Yankees acquire Brandon McCarthy from Diamondbacks

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has made his first move in the summer of 2014, the summer of New York Yankee struggles.

According to John Heyman, embattled lefty-starter Vidal Nuno has been shipped to the Arizona Diamondbacks for starter Brandon McCarthy, according to CBSSports.com. While it’s not a trade that will send shock-waves through baseball, it is a move that could see some upside going the way of the pin-stripers.

Nuno has struggled since being inserted into the starting lineup due to three-fifths of the Yankee rotations going to the disabled-list (CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda). Nuno, 26, is currently 2-5 with a 5.42 ERA on the campaign. Most within the organization do not feel he has much upside, and having him inserted into the rotation was a necessity.

Brandon McCarthy has had a different type of career. As a youngster, he was tabbed a “can’t miss” prospect with the Chicago White Sox. Despite that tag however, he never hit that stride that the franchise hoped and prayed he would.

He went through another three-franchises afterwards (Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks), and has a 45-60 career record with a 4.21 ERA, according to BaseballReference.com. McCarthy has a career 6.2 strikeout per nine-inning rate.

In 2011, McCarthy enjoyed his best year as a pro with the Oakland A’s as he led the league with an ERA of 2.86.

This is clearly an upside move on the part of Cashman, hoping McCarthy can capture the magic he had as a prospect in 2011. He will be a free-agent at the end of the season.